PROJECTIONS, Episode 13: Avegant’s Lightfield Augmented Reality Prototype

We try on the prototype Avegant lightfield glasses, which project a volumetric image that lets us focus on holograms at different points in space. It’s one of the most surprising mixed reality demos we’ve used, and we still can’t figure out how it works!

Comments (7)

7 thoughts on “PROJECTIONS, Episode 13: Avegant’s Lightfield Augmented Reality Prototype

  1. I’m pretty sure I know how they’re doing this. Imagine NVIDIA’s near-eye light field display; the prototype one that breaks the video signal down into many small (shifted) partial sub-images, you may have seen this. That display passes those tiny images through many micro lenses directly in front of the screens. The curvature of the lenses and their position take care of all the optical problems because your eye sees the correct light rays where they should actually be. That display works great but has the unacceptable trade-off of taking a single screen and subdividing its resolution by orders of magnitude (one screen becomes many tiny low-res screens). Now imagine instead pulling an “Issac Newton” (as in, refracting—>reflecting telescopes). Project a full resolution image onto tiny curved mirrors, and the micro-mirrors can carry the higher resolution without the resolution degradation or refraction issues. You’re still looking at a shifted “field” of reflecting images and the angle of viewing takes care of all the focus and accommodation issues while your mind blots out the rest.

    I only wish they’d let go of the real world for a moment, all the AR companies take the same approach. The could instead take that micro-mirror approach and apply it to an opaque VR headset with pass-through cameras to allow in the real world’s light, selectively. You’d get: wider FOV, the ability to “blot” out the real world, and the inevitable secondary reflections and refractions that come with translucent materials. Then we’d have one VR/AR headset for today’s industry, that could evolve to “match” the real world light as the technology develops.

  2. I’m not sure if I missed it or if it wasn’t mentioned, but do you need to wear glasses with this? Or can the app/headset re-focus objects for your prescription?

  3. This was GREAT… Norm and Jeremy going all Shark Tank on this guy.
    The gloves came off and they GRILLED him.
    Totally different vibe than when they’re talking to an open source DIYer.
    Avegant are professionals and were held to a professional standard.

    Great content, guys !!

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